A long vigil
by xxvisionaryxx
Summary: Dudley Dursely underwent a huge change when he ran into two dementors in that alleyway. But why? What did he see that night and how did it affect him? A long vigil follows Dudley's thoughts as he sits through the night waiting for news of his cousin, Harr
1. Chapter 1

**it all belongs to JK**

**A Long Vigil**

For nearly an entire year Dudley Dursley had been worrying. For nearly a year he had been hiding, eager to finish his last year of school but unable to do so because of the people that hunted him and his family.

His parents were the same as ever, whinging and whining about the lack of comfort the rooms that the wizard Elphias Doge, and the witch Hestia Jones, had deemed to be the safest place for them to stay that night. For his part Dudley was just glad to have found somewhere that they could stay that was as far as possible from the strange men in masks that pursued them. They inspired a sort of terror in him that he had not felt since the night of the Dementors.

Dudley found his way to the small living room of the motel room where they were staying tonight and began to pace, pretending to be focusing on the TV screen. The pacing was his ritual, he did it every night no matter where they were staying, Dudley found that pounding out a steady rhythm on the floor with his feet kept his thoughts flowing properly and made it more easy for him to handle things.

His first thought as always was of his cousin, Harry. Where was he? And what was he doing? It had been nearly a year since Harry had been separated from the rest of the family. Only now that Harry had gone had Dudley begun to feel some remorse for the years of torture that he had put his cousin through during his childhood. Well that wasn't completely true, he'd been feeling remorse since a few weeks after the Dementor attack, but Harry had been long gone, withdrawn into himself, by the time he had returned for the next summer holidays. Dudley knew that Harry had not even known that his cousin had had a change of feeling over him until the night of their parting.

It was more than just the fact that Harry had saved his life, or his soul, which was far more invaluable; there was something else that had made Dudley change. That night, when the Dementors had attacked him had been the most frightening night of his life, yet he had also had a great insight into his cousin's life and what it had been like for Harry.

You see, the thing that Dudley had seen when he was faced with Dementors was not a thing, it was a feeling. A feeling of loneliness and exclusion. Of being totally cut off from everyone that mattered in your life and being put in a cage. Dudley had nearly died from the terror of that sensation of being all alone.

A few weeks of solid reflection told him that he hadn't been reliving memories from his own memory but from his cousins. Dudley had been a spoilt child he had never known loneliness because his mother and father were always there for him, in fact, the only loneliness he'd ever been in contact with was his cousin who had always been seen as something of an outcast.

It was with a shock that Dudley came to the realisation that being Harry was his worst nightmare, the most terrible fear that he had. Guilt had flooded him as he now understood the feelings that must have plagued his cousin all through his childhood; to live such an unloved life was a terrible thing.

This realisation had slowly led to a respect and love for his cousin; after all, he had put Harry through his own worst nightmare. Been his cousin's own personal torturer for eleven years, but somehow Harry had found it in himself to save the despicable person that had put him through that grief. More still he had done so without even thinking it through; there hadn't been even a moment when he'd considered leaving Dudley there.

Dudley now cringed at the unpleasant memories he must have brought up for his cousin by mentioning the name 'Cedric Diggory' for he had later discovered that Harry had watched this boy be murdered right in front of him. It was no wonder his cousin had been having nightmares, who wouldn't?

In fact after hearing all the stories about this Lord Voldemort, Dudley was tempted to up and join the wizard's rebellion the Order of The Phoenix himself. It was as important a cause as he had ever come across and he wanted to help, but as Hestia and Elphias were constantly telling him, fists were no good in this fight, you needed a wand to be able to do any damage.

Still desperate to help with bringing down Voldemort Dudley had filched the wands from the limp figures of a group of 'Death Eaters' who had been stunned by Hestia and Elphias as they tried to pursue the Dursleys. Maybe Dudley could not fight with a wand but at least he could stop the other side from having weapons.

When Hestia had found the wands and understood why she had taken them she began to do the same herself. Hestia said that it would take time for the Death Eaters to replace their wands and taking them would put them out of action for a few weeks at the least. Dudley had been pleased, he had made an impact on the rebellion despite the fact that he was a Muggle.

His parents had of course been displeased with him for helping 'that lot'. Dudley had had a huge fight with them over it, in fact he'd had a few huge fights with his parents over the course of the past year. His father constantly mentioned Harry's death in a nonchalant way, as though it was something he hoped for and it made Dudley afraid. It made him afraid that he may never see Harry again, afraid that he may never be able to make up for the past.

Dudley did not think he would be able to get over the constant horrible guilt that overwhelmed him if he could not make things up with his cousin. It had been horrible finding out towards the end of the summer holidays that Harry had run off with two friends and no-one knew where they were anymore. Dudley had had to assume though that Harry's judgement had been good and that he knew what he was doing and would come out of this whole thing ok, alive at least.

"Elphias?" A voice called softly as Hestia entered the room, she had been out doing rounds of the motel just to make sure that no-one was there who shouldn't be. She seemed calm enough so Dudley assumed that there were no Death Eaters in this particular motel.

"He's asleep Hestia what's happening?" Over the past few months Dudley had managed to build up a relationship with the two wizards who were acting as their guardians. It could even be said that he was friends with these people, again something that his parents hated. Dudley could not believe it had taken his soul almost being sucked out of his body for him to realise that his parents' prejudices were just ridiculous. Most of the wizard's were well meaning people, it was Voldemort's lot that was the scum.

Hestia looked at Dudley through her weary heavily lidded eyes and despite the fact that she was only just middle-aged she looked like an old woman. "Nothing really," she replied, "It's just that tonight is the night of the final battle.. If they manage to kill your cousin then the hope of all witches and wizards will be killed, protecting Harry is crucial, as is killing him. I don't think many Death Eaters will be away from Hogwarts tonight, but it's better to be safe than sorry," she explained the situation trying to smile at the end but only succeeding in looking very weary.

Dudley just nodded he had only recently learnt and understood about Harry's standing in the wizarding community as 'The Boy Who Lived' very recently. It left Dudley in awe the number of times skinny, reedy Harry Potter whom he had managed to beat up during his younger years had grown powerful enough to be a rival to a man who had killed more than a thousand people.

Dudley made himself a cup of tea too, he had already decided that he was going to stay up with Hestia as she kept watch. When Dudley got back to the small white table that Hestia was sitting at, her eyes directed to the door, her wand at easy reaching distance, he placed the cup of tea in front of her.

Hestia looked up at Dudley thankfully; god knows she'd have been asked to be taken off the task of protecting the Dursley's very quickly if it hadn't been for this kid. The parents were just horrible, but Dudley, Dudley reminded Hestia of her own son of around this age who had been lost in his work for the Order Of the Phoenix just a few weeks ago. Dudley had been a constant comfort to her from that point on. She drank from the tea cup thankfully and watched as Dudley settled his weight into a chair on the opposite side of the table and began to read the book on magical theory that he'd put there earlier.

Hestia swore that if performing magic depended on knowing a lot of theory as Dolores Umbridge had thought a few years ago and tried to enforce at Hogwarts, Dudley would be one of the best wizards of the age. She shook her head and smiled, wishing with all her heart that the boy was a part of their world and could help in the rebellion he was so eager to take part. Hestia returned her focus to the door, barely registering the fact that Elphias had entered the room to join this silent vigil.

Dudley read the book on wizarding history carefully absorbing every little detail. It was about a famous duel between Albus Dumbledore, another person who was close to Harry and had died and Grindelwald. Apparently the duel had gone on several hours before Dumbledore had finally managed to finish Grindelwald, both wizards had done things with a wand that no-one else had ever been able to do. Dumbledore sometimes without a wand, Dudley read with curiosity how Dumbledore had seemed very unwilling to finish off Grindelwald and he wondered why you would hesitate. Of course there was the part of you that would never want to kill something, but then there'd be the other side that would tell you that if you didn't do this then countless other people would suffer because you hadn't managed to complete the task that belonged to you.

Dudley had no doubt that his cousin would be the one to face off with Voldemort, it seemed inevitable, there were so many encounters between the two and Harry always escaped unscathed. Voldemort did too, but his pride was injured. Dudley was sure that the next time Harry and Voldemort met his cousin would take out the despicable man who had started this war in the first place. There was still a prickling fear at the back of his mind though.

What if Voldemort was the one who came out triumphant? What if Harry Potter's life was taken by the end of the night? Dudley wished he could be as complacent as his father whose snores cut through the otherwise silent night air, but Dudley could feel the fear rising up in his throat and nearly strangling him as the night wore on and Dudley tried to lose himself in Bathilda Bagshot's historical recount.

He didn't manage it, and come morning he found himself staring straight at the wall. Eyes glazed over and slightly crusty from his sleepless nights. He wasn't really thinking about anything, more just letting his feelings run through him. He was also trying to meditate, which was something he'd been taught at in a yoga class that Pius' mum had forced them to attend.

Pius, Dudley had been out of contact with the boy who had once been his best friend for the past year and a half. Pius had not liked the new Dudley. The one from after the Dementor attack. The Dudley who walked not strutted, who wasn't as self assured as he had once been.

Dudley had walked out on all of that, the gang, his friends. It had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done, but he knew that he couldn't be around these people who beat up ten year olds every other night, until they had all received the same sort of rude awakening that he had. Dudley now despised himself for being one of them in the past.

It was this train of thought that was interrupted by the tap of the tiny owl fluttering its wings against the window. Hestia got up and opened the window opening what both she and Dudley assumed was the post owl that delivered her morning paper, the TruthSeeker, which was a paper, started up by some members of the order and was the only one that told the truth, and that hadn't been taken over by Voldemort and his cronies.

The moment Hestia set eyes on the envelope though; she knew that this was definitely not the TruthSeeker. The envelope was purple and addressed to her Elphias and the Dursley family in a spiky hand that she did not recognise. Cautious as to what the contents of this letter may be Hestia tapped it once with her wand checking for any spells that it may contain. Several Death Eaters had taken to sending curses to their enemies.

Once the envelope had been established as safe she bent down picked it up and cautiously split open the seal. By this time she had been joined by both Dudley and Elphias. Both of whom watched on with the same worried expressions that had adorned their faces so constantly during these dark times.

Hestia read the letter through once quickly before whooping with joy and collapsing onto the chair and dissolving into tears. Elphias snatched up the letter next, worried further by Hestia's odd reaction he sped read the letter. Once he was done he took of his top hat and placed it against his chest.

Dudley worried by both of their reactions, which he found to be very ambiguous in meanings. Unlike the other two Dudley read every word of the letter carefully until he was satisfied that there was no other possible meaning. Voldemort was gone, Harry had defeated him.

Dudley felt the tension seeping from his shoulders he looked down at the name that was signed off on the piece of paper in a neat hand, "Roxanne Greenwell" he would be forever thankful to her wherever she was.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok so I don't really like this chapter much myself, but it's necessary for the story to get to the place I want it to go. Reviews are always welcome. I hope you guys like it!

**It all belongs to JK Rowling**

**Chapter two: The Vigil's over but the wait is not**

It had been nearly a week since Voldemort had been defeated and still the Dursleys were on the run. It seemed that a few of the Death Eaters were still determined to get at the family before they could be rounded up and put back into Azkaban. Dudley wondered exactly who would guard the wizard prison now that the Dementors had abandoned it. He shuddered at the thought of these ghastly creatures who had shown no signs of returning to the right side even though Voldemort was now gone.

He sighed heavily he still hadn't seen his cousin. Harry had of course been very busy in the aftermath of the great battle. He had been rounding up Death Eaters, the two cousins had not been in contact at all and Dudley only knew what he did from Elphias' Order connections.

Dudley hoped that he would be able to meet Harry back home at Privet Drive once he got there, for that was where they were headed. Number four was going to be set up as a safe house for the Order and the family. Of course Dudley's parents were not at all happy about having a group of wizards in their house, but they were just going to have to deal with that. They owed these people for everything that they'd done for them. They owed these people their lives.

Dudley was roused from his thoughts by the tap of the post owl; he went to get it, knowing that both of the wizards travelling with him would be much too tired to after last night. Hestia and Elphias had been ambushed on their rounds and had only just managed to escape the five or so Death Eaters. Elphias' arm had a lot of nasty slashes over it and Hestia was still stunned when he managed to get her back to the motel room and cast a few protective spells.

Carrying the paper, Dudley returned to the kitchen table with a sigh. How long would it be until one of their protectors was injured and maybe even killed? It would take them around five days to get to Privet Drive always travelling under the cover of night and taking the longest routes possible to make it harder for people to follow them.

Dudley opened the paper and scanned it for any new of Harry, there wasn't much. Only a small note on the very back page that said Harry was very busy and had just caught the Anton Dolohov, the notorious Death Eater. Dudley wished that he could use a wand so that he could get out there and fight alongside his cousin.

Though there wasn't much news on Harry in the TruthSeeker, and Dudley there was a large article about Azkaban and its new guards. It appeared that everyone was confused as to who would take over from the Dementors, who had eventually offered to return to their old posts. The recently re-established Ministry of Magic did not want to accept them though, it was the second time that the foul creatures had let them down and who was to say that they wouldn't do it a third time?

The Ministry was cautious about accepting the Dementors again, but there was really no other option. If the Dementors did not guard Azkaban they would be swooping all over the country, putting fear into the hearts of even the bravest of people. Also, if the Dementors did not guard Azkaban the only other creatures that could fill their position were the giants and most of them had sided with Voldemort. In fact reading the article Dudley knew that the Ministry was eventually going to accept the Dementors, they were just holding out on them to show that they were only doing this grudgingly.

Dudley scrolled through the rest of the paper; his eyes eventually fell upon the column at the back that listed the names of all the dead. Dudley had recently found himself reading through the names each day and thinking over how much each of these people would be missed by those who loved them.

He had never before recognised any of the names listed but today two names screamed out at him. Remus Lupin and Fred Weasley. Dudley felt a jolt of shock as he realised that the boy whose toffee had caused his tongue to grow to four feet long was gone and Remus Lupin had been amongst the group of people who had accosted the Dursleys at the end of one school term when Harry got off the train.

Dudley felt a pang of sorrow for his cousin, realising that though he did not know the names of most of the people on this list, Harry would know and be close to a lot of them. The battle last night had taken nearly 70 lives and the death toll was still mounting, several of the bodies discovered remained unidentified. Dudley winced as he read this part of the article, picturing a charred dead body, features distorted beyond recognition.

Repulsed by the images in his head, Dudley threw the newspaper across the table, so that it landed in a spot farthest away from him. He then got up and tried to rid himself of the images in his mind by cooking breakfast. That had been another change to Dudley's life. He was losing weight, not because he wanted to, or was trying to, but simply because either no-one had the time to cook, or they were all too despondent to do it.

He pulled out sausages that Elphias had gotten two nights ago out of the motel fridge and set about cooking them in the tiny saucepan that was the only real cooking utensil they had, apart from forks and knives of course. Once he was done he put some food onto five plates, and set them on the table.

After that Dudley got a bit carried away, preparing a salad with the few vegetables they were carrying on them, tomato, lettuce and cucumber. He also made a bit of the instant mash they had bought a while back and dunked some into everyone's plate.

Then he stood back to admire his work. It was no feast, but compared to the meals that they had been living on for most of this past year it was a meal fit for a king. Dudley had decided that this was going to be their little celebration Voldemort's demise, because if anything, everyone had become even gloomier since they had heard the good news.

Dudley continued to potter around the kitchen and made everyone a coffee or hot chocolate in his case, since he still hated the bitter taste of coffee, he then placed these drinks on the table alongside the food. A yawn coming from his parents' room told him that the house was waking up, and he smiled, he had timed the making of his breakfast perfectly.

Petunia and Vernon Dursley stumbled out of bed and into the small, and Petunia's eyes began to water as soon as she saw her son standing next to the best meal she'd seen in a long time. Petunia felt as though she had been losing her son these past months, and she struggled to swallow the emotions within her tempting her to run over and hug him. Dudley was a man now, she couldn't treat him like a child any longer.

Vernon merely grunted at the sight of the breakfast, "What's the special occasion?" he asked Dudley in a nasty manner.

"Well, I thought it was about time we celebrated Harry's win over Voldemort," Dudley said quietly knowing that his father would not like to hear his cousins name .He was all too right, Vernon's eyes narrowed and he turned an odd shade of purple.

Thankfully Dudley was rescued from what would have been an awkward and angry exchange of words by the arrival of Elphias who looked at the food hungrily, "I think that's a brilliant idea. I'm starved," he then heaved a huge yawn and crossed over to the table digging into a plate of sausages and mash.

"Good work Duds I never took you for a cook, but this is good," he said once he had finished his first mouthful.

Vernon merely snorted and sat down to sample the food himself, "S'ok," he pronounced. Petunia stared worriedly across the table between father and son. She hated the animosity she'd been seeing there for the past month.

It seemed that Vernon's comments about Harry Potter had finally made Dudley lose respect for his father. To be honest Petunia found her husband's constant offensive treatment of the boy just a tad irritating. Harry was her nephew and even though Petunia had managed to trick everyone into believing that she despised him, she did not. It was just the same with her sister Lily; she had pushed her away because she was afraid, not because she hated her. She hated the wizarding world and all who belonged to it, not because of an insane fear or prejudice, but because she felt that this world had torn her sister away from her, taken her to a place that Petunia could not possibly follow.

Petunia stared at her son, noticing the grim set of his mouth as he looked at his father and Petunia felt her heart break as she watched the disintegration of her new family. This was just like what had happened between Lily and her, one person changed a bit and the other couldn't take it, so they began to treat their one time friend with dislike. Only in this case it was happening between a father and a son. Petunia felt crushed to know that the same stupidity would rip her from the people she loved most twice.

All this while, Dudley continued to hold his father's gaze coolly. Vernon's eyes may have been full of anger, but Dudley's were not. He looked grim and somehow blank as he looked back at the man who had raised him. He truly did feel sorry for the situation between his father and himself, he saw what it did to his mother, but there was really nothing he could do. Vernon had chosen for it to be this way after Dudley had proclaimed that he 'liked wizards and witches' Vernon had uttered scarcely a word to him, it was like he had disowned his son.

Dudley did not take well to being ignored so he responded in anger of his own, but he always concealed that portraying a blank cool façade to his father. The staring competition continued and was only ended by Hestia's appearance in the room.

Dudley snapped his head around to greet her and in the same instant Vernon's eyes flashed downwards to focus on his plate. Dudley was glad that the tension had finally been broken, but Hestia looked wild and he could tell that something was up. "We need to go now!" she cried, clearly in a state of alarm.

"What's happening?" Dudley and Elphias asked at once.

"Just, no time, we have to go now, side along apparition is the only way. So sorry," Hestia was so scared she was speaking in disjointed sentences that made little to no sense, particularly given the frenzied manner in which she was spewing them out. However Hestia was not going to waste anymore time, "You know where to," she told Elphias and then grabbed both Dudley and Vernon by the arms and disapparated.

Dudley felt his insides squirm as he experienced the odd sensation of your body slowly fading away into nothing and reappearing in another place. Dudley examined his surroundings as soon as he had the squirming in his stomach under control. He appeared to be standing on a hill and there was a sign to the left that informed him that he was on the top of the Stoatshead Hill.

"What's happening?" he asked Hestia.

"Yes, what's going on?" Vernon looked slightly green in the face as opposed to his usual ruddy complexion, and he spoke with an angry vicious tone. It was as though each of his word was a bark, Dudley wondered why exactly his father hated wizards so much because if you thought about it didn't make much sense. Sure there was a fear of the unknown, but that could only last you so long. Dudley knew that Vernon was quite well acquainted with the magical world now, it was no longer unknown and there was no need to be afraid.

Hestia snapped, she was not known for her patience and she had put up with Vernon Dursley's irritating tone of voice for long enough, "Walk," she commanded pushing each of them forward, "I'll explain as we go," she added quickly as she took note of Vernon's mutinous look.

"What happened was, I just saved you again Dursley," her tone was acerbic; she had learnt to be always sharp with Vernon. "Yaxley, Garrow and only god knows how many others had gathered outside the motel. They'd cut through most of Elphias' enchantments and neither of us is fit enough to fight another lot of Death Eaters after last night. I don't know why so many Death Eaters are intent on killing you, but they are, so I'm taking you to the safest of the safe houses. The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Elphias and Petunia should be along in a bit," and true to her words a faint popping noise behind them alerted Dudley to the presence of his mother and Elphias standing on the crest of the Stoatshead Hill.

"So," Hestia concluded, "Move quickly if you want to move into the safety zone and avoid getting caught out in the open by Death Eaters and I'm sorry about the side-along apparation Mr. Dursley. I know I promised that we'd never make you disappear, but it was an emergency, that or your lives." Hestia was right of course and Dudley thanked her for making the right decision, but his father continued to glower at the ground, his moustache quivering in anger.

They continued to march forward at a slower pace though, so as to allow Elphias and Petunia to catch up. Once they were caught up though, Hestia took the lead and redoubled the pace. They had to go fast or the Death Eaters may catch them before they were in the protective bubble that surrounded every safe house and was known as the safety zone.

"We're close now," Elphias squeaked upon reaching the bottom of the hill, he was attempting to reassure Vernon and Petunia, both of whom were puffed already. That was when they heard it the faint, muffled pops that told them the Death Eaters were following.

"Run!" Hestia yelled and the Dursleys lurched into motion fear scrawled across all of their features. They had only physically been in the presence of the Death Eaters once and the jeering, laughing sneers of the masked men, as they shot spell after spell at the defenceless Muggles, had been enough to scare them all out of their wits.

Hestia stayed behind casting some protective spells to slow the Death Eaters down and Elphias continued to lead the Dursleys towards the safe house wherever it may be. "How did they know that we'd come here?" Dudley panted at Elphias as he ran.

The wizard seemed very short of breath but he managed speak, "There are twelve safe houses; the Death Eaters know the rough location of all of them. They must have just sent as many people as they could to all of them," he wheezed. Dudley did not ask more because he knew that the wizard needed to focus all his energy on running, but he wondered to himself how these Death Eaters had managed to evade the aurors and the Order for the past five days.

Dudley tried to separate his mind from his body as he ran. He may have lost weight, but he was still not physically fit enough for this, his relatively unused calf muscles were aching under the strain of this run. Even in his wrestling days Dudley had not gained a high enough level of physical fitness for long runs like this one and separating his mind helped his body to run without shutting down.

They continued like this for quite a while, feet beating out a frenetic rhythm upon the ground. None of them dared to slow down, not even for an instant, and then just when Dudley thought he could take it no more, Elphias threw out an arm to stop them.

"We're….inside…the boundary…now. Should be fine," Elphias gasped clutching a stitch in his side. The entire group stopped and collapsed to the ground hiding behind a tree. Dudley felt his mind and body reconnect and the pain in his joints nearly overpowered him. No-one was faring much better, Petunia was rubbing her leg gingerly and Vernon was softly moaning in pain.

Dudley's mind didn't linger on his pain for long, he was too busy being worried about Hestia. He had developed a close friendship with her over the preceding months, she was almost like an older sister to him. The thought that she may have been slowed down enough to have been cornered by the Death Eaters was a horrible one, particulaly since she had only slowed to help protect them.

Dudley felt a hole of anticipation well up inside of him as they sheltered under the tree and waited for Hestia. At length they heard voices just outside the border, there was a scuffle and then someone crossed over. It had to be Hestia; Dudley did not think that Death Eaters could pass into these protective zones.

"Elphias? Dudley?" called an all too familiar voice and relief swept through the small group of people sheltered beneath the trees. Even Vernon was glad to see Hestia again, for without her their guard would be shortened by one, placing the family in graver danger.

They waved Hestia over and set off once more towards their destination. It took them only a few minutes of walking at a slow pace to arrive at it. Dudley looked at the crooked house, it seemed to tilt to one side as though almost about to fall over. The peeling paint on an old, hand-painted sign informed him that he had arrived at The Burrow.

Dudley heard his father snort at the sight of the house, it clearly wasn't up to his standards. His mother just looked plain scared at the dirty state of the yard, which sprawled messily about the house. For his part Dudley felt nothing but a strange sense of safety at the sight of a building that must surely be in constant danger of toppling over.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, this is the most irritating chapter so far, but please read and review, and I hope you guys enjoy it. I didn't put in all the "Omg, it's the Dursley's getting confused at the Burrow" this chapter, well not much, but I will put more of that in the next chapter. This is their first hour after all.Also, this is short, mainly because I didn't like it, the next chapter is longer.

**It all belongs to JK Rowling.**

Chapter Three: The Burrow and Roxanne

The group entered the yard of the Burrow tentatively and Dudley saw his mother cringe openly at the messy state of the garden, he rolled his eyes. For a boy who had lived out his entire life in a clinically clean house, with a carefully fenced garden, the Burrow was like a dream come true, Dudley had spent most of his childhood wishing that his house could be this messy, without his mother throwing a fit.

Dudley paused about halfway down the path he had just caught sight of a troop of small, muddy brown creatures, wending their way in and out of the hedge. He stopped and stared openly with his mouth open. "Those are gnomes," Elphias said, giving Dudley a gentle nudge in the back to propel him forward. The two wizards were clearly eager to get inside the house. "You can have a closer look at them later, but right now I'm really in the mood for some of Molly Weasley's cooking."

Dudley closed his mouth and kept walking silently. How was it that these gnomes were so different to the statues of garden gnomes that they'd had back home? That was when his brain registered the mention of food, and he quickened his pace.

The name Molly Weasley rang a bell too, wasn't she the same woman who had once sent a letter completely covered in stamps to their house? Dudley laughed aloud, remembering the incident and how seriously his father had taken it. It seemed that she was a good cook, despite not being able to put the correct number of stamps on a letter.

Hestia reached up and knocked on the front door. It looked well worn, like everything else about the place and had a homey feel to it. After a moment, it swung open, revealing a short, plump, woman, who flashed them a welcoming smile.

"Hestia, Elphias, come in!" She ushered them all into the house and led them to the kitchen, "I suppose you're all hungry?" she asked, she didn't wait for their reply, merely set about getting them some of the shepherd's pie that was leftover from that night's dinner.

"So," she spoke as she fixed up plates for the five of them, "I wasn't expecting you here. I'm assuming these are the Dursleys?"

"That they are," Elphias squeaked out introductions, "Dudley, Petunia and Vernon."

"Nice to meet you," Mrs Weasley said politely, though Dudley could feel a slight tightness in her voice. It was then that he realised that this was where Harry had run to every summer, to get away from them. No doubt this kindly looking woman had heard something about them from Harry. No doubt, that was why her eyes were cold as she put their plates in front of them.

Dudley began to eat the delicious shepherd's pie. He watched on with barely hidden impatience, when his father looked at it suspiciously. The man had even sniffed it. Dudley sighed, the only thing he could do, was make sure he didn't end up as twisted and prejudiced as Vernon.

There had been a time when everyone had said that Dudley was the image of Vernon. No-one had for the past year and a half, Dudley's eyes were no longer quite so piggy, he attributed this to the fact that he had finally decided to open his eyes, and his mind, to the world. The most striking change though, was in his expression. It had used to be a sneer that had perfectly matched Vernon's, but it was softer now, less cruel. There was remorse in that face.

Dudley next listened to the small talk that was playing out between his mother and Mrs Weasley, who hadn't quite managed to keep the note of hostility out of her voice. "So, you're Lily's sister are you?" she asked.

Petunia winced, "I am Petunia," she replied, forcing herself to hold her head high. All through her life it had always been that way, she had been known as nothing more than 'Lily's sister'. Even though her sister was dead, it still felt like Petunia was walking in Lily's shadow.

"Oh, I'm Molly," Mrs. Weasley walked back to the kitchen and began to prepare them all mugs of hot chocolate. She fumed silently all the while, those people, had been the reason Harry had been so very thin when he arrived at the Burrow all those years ago. The reason that he had had so little confidence. Molly shuddered to think what would have happened to the boy she had come to regard as a son, if he had not been admitted to Hogwarts.

Fortunately she managed to get her temper under control by the time she was done with the hot chocolates. She walked back and set the mugs on the table in front of them, "Just a last little treat before you go to bed," she told them forcing a smile.

"Thanks for the food Mrs Weasley, it was all delicious," the boy thanked her as he picked up his hot chocolate and sipped it. Molly was surprised at his polite tone. Then she remembered something Harry had said about his cousin 'changing'. She had not known what it had meant at the time, but she guessed now that Dudley Dursley had come to be a decent person. How he had managed it with those two for parents, Molly didn't know.

She smiled, this time more genuinely, "Oh, it's the least I could do for Harry's family dear," she noticed that Vernon snorted at her words, and Petunia bowed her head in shame, but their son just nodded thoughtfully.

"I don't think we quite count as family yet, but I do intend to change that as soon as I have the opportunity," Dudley replied.

Molly frowned at the looks his parents were giving him. It was a good thing that Dudley wanted to try and make things up with Harry need for the glares were uncalled for. She nodded, "That's nice of you dear." If no-one else was going to encourage this child in doing what was right, then she would have to.

Dudley nodded at her words, by this point he could feel the tension in the room growing. His parents were obviously disappointed with him.There was only one way Dudley could see out of this situation. He heaved a fake yawn, "Well I'm off to bed, thanks again Mrs Weasley. Would you mind telling me where I could sleep?"

"Oh yes, let me take you upstairs now," she said and began to lead him out of the room, "You'll have to share with my son George," Dudley nodded, the other half of the twins, he thought. The one that was still alive. "I'm sorry if that's inconvenient for you, but the Burrow does have so many people in it already."

She stopped outside the door to one of the rooms and said, "Well this is it. Goodnight dear." Then she was gone, leaving him alone in the hallway to enter George's room.

Dudley extended a hand and pushed open the door of the room. At first he was too shocked that the posters on the walls moved, to notice much else, but eventually he noticed the man lying on one of the beds, and the girl sitting beside him.

He walked over to them nervously, he had gotten over his fear of wizards while with Hestia and Elphias, but the fact that they were both staring at him was slightly unnerving, "Who are you?" the redheaded man asked in a rough voice.

"Um, Dudley, Dudley Dursley. We've met before. Your father blew up my living room." Dudley recognised George, though he realised that his way of introduction was probably not the best one.

"Oh," was all George could think to say, he really couldn't care less about what this Muggle was doing in his room. All he cared about was Fred, and the huge hole that seemed to swallow him up every time he thought about his twin. It felt like he had lost one of his limbs in a particularly nasty way, and the injury hadn't been treated yet.

"Don't be rude George," the girl who was sitting beside him admonished. She got up and made her way across the room to Dudley, wearing a smile that warmed up her hazel eyes, "I'm Roxanne Greenwell."


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, so I finally got inside of Vernon's head and I really want to know what you guys think of it. Oh and thankyou to shrimp strifry for giving me an idea, as you can see, I adjusted it slightly, but it's still the same in essentials.

I'm also thinking of writing a story that follows the progress of Tom Riddle through his years at the orphanage in an attempt to explain what made him so twisted. Let me know if you think it's a shoddy idea or a good one. Oh and if you have ideas for this story tell me, I know basically where the story's going, but your ideas could add meat onto what is now a skeleton. Wow, long author notes section, and please review.

**Rowling owns it, not me, the end.**

**Chapter Four: Vernon, Ginny and Bat Bogey Hexes.**

Dudley rolled over in bed as he woke up, and tried to remember what he had been dreaming about. He was fairly sure it had something to do with the mirror in the Weasley's kitchen that had yelled, 'Porky!' at him for the past few days. He had received a huge shock the first time it had happned, and couldn't help being put off the huge plate of food Mrs. Weasley had placed in front of him just a few minutes later.

Dudley sighed, squeezed his eyes shut, and tried to go to sleep. Living at the Burrow was bliss apart from the ungodly waking hours, that were dictated by that insane cuckoo clock of theirs. He tried to shut out the raucous sound that it was now making with little success. The sound seemed to be able to penetrate even the furthest corners of the house.

In a last ditch attempt to get some sleep he shoved his pillow over his head, this was greeted by a soft giggle. The giggle woke him faster than even the clock would have. He sat bolt upright in bed and looked straight at the petite brunette perched on the bedside table. "Roxanne!" He pronounced her name angrily, as though it was an accusation, "What are you doing in here?" He looked over at George to see if her presence bothered him at all, but as usual the redhead was staring sullenly up at the ceiling.

"Waking you up for breakfast,"she replied, her cool, unconcerned voice unnerving him as usaul. Her hazel eyes were dancing wickedly. it was as though she knew that her very presence made him uncomfortable.

He sighed, "Couldn't you have knocked or something?"

She paused, considering it for a second, "Well I guess I could have, but you look so funny when you're sleeping…" she trailed off, and it was with difficulty that Dudley suppressed a growl. Roxanne could be maddening at times. He would always be thankful to her for being the bearer of good news though. Her letter had been of the utmost importance to him that night.

"Would you kindly leave while I get ready to come down?" he asked her, with all the mock politeness of a courtier.

"Yeah, just don't try and go to sleep again," with that she left, pulling the door closed gently behind her.

Dudley got out of bed, and began to get dressed, thinking all the while. Mostly it was about Roxanne, much as he tried to deny it, he was not just grateful to her for her letter. He admired evereything about her, even how good at annoying him she was.

Dudley had no idea how to behave around Roxanne, and it was simply infuriating that she always seemed to possess a calm, presence of mind. Of course, Dudley had had feelings for girls in the past, but it had been in his gang days. He had generally just bullied them into going out with him, or scared them terribly when they continued to refuse. Somehow he didn't think that either tactic would work with Roxanne, more likely she'd hex him if he tried either one of them on her.

Dudley skipped downstairs feeling light hearted, the buttery sunshine filtering through the windows had him in a good mood and if Harry had been here it would have been as near to perfect as any morning could get. On his way down he caught a glimpse of his father, who had obviously just woken up and was in a rather dishevelled state. He looked even grumpier than usual, though Dudley couldn't really blame him for that, considering that Ginny Weasley had lost her temper with him the night before and performed her infamous bat bogey hex. Dudley laughed as he remembered Ginny's face going as red as her hair with anger, then she had cast her spell.

In the past, Dudley would have felt sorry for his father, but he had thoroughly deserved it. Everyone who was currently residing at the Burrow knew that Ginny was in love with Harry. Dudley's father, however, did not seem to understand that when someone is in love with someone else, they do not generally take well to having that person insulted every five seconds.

Ginny's attack seemed to have had little effect upon his father, except for that he now grumbled about, 'That good for nothing Potter' under his breath instead of out loud and threw frightened glances at Ginny every now and again. The Weasley's, all of whom had tempers that matched their hair, didn't seem to like this muttering much and likened it to that of a house elf they had once known. Kreacher sounded like a pain in the neck.

Personally though, Dudley had been getting along with all of the Weasley's quite well, with the exception of George of course. His roommate refused to speak or look at him. Dudley got the distinct impression that George thought it unfair that a person like Dudley whom he perceived as useless, got to live, while the life of someone more worthy, like Fred, was simply snuffed out.

The rest of the Weasley's though, were extremely friendly and Dudley had to admire their attitudes, even so recently after the loss of their brother and son. His mother too, seemed to get along better with Mrs. Weasley, after that awkward, stiltedness to their conversations had worn away. Dudley was pretty sure that Petunia liked Molly more than she had liked any of the Mrs. Next-Doors she'd tried to make friends with over the years.

His thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt, when he hit the bottom of the stairs and the scent of coffee and pancakes drifting over from the kitchen completely overwhelmed him. Thinking of nothing but his stomach, which seemed to be floating at the thought of more of Mrs.Weasley's delicious food, he rushed over to the kitchen.

Upon entering, he felt his rapidly rising stomach came crashing back down to earth. There was only one seat left at the kitchen table and it was opposite a clearly angry Vernon. Wondering how his father had managed to get down before him, Dudley dropped into the seat next to Ginny, greeting her casually and trying to ignore the jargon that was spilling out of his father's mouth. Instead he focused his attention on the pancakes Mrs. Weasley had just placed in front of him, forcing his face into a polite, disinterested expression.

Vernon stared across the table at his son, no the person who had once been his son and he felt the fury rise within him. There he sat, that ridiculous smile on his face as he surveyed his breakfast, he looked goofy to say the least. The boy obviously thought him, an old, bigoted, fool of a man.

Dudley was probably right, but Vernon had his reasons for being the way he was. They were all the same these wizards; they acted on the slightest impulse, like the girl had yesterday, like James had that time when he had been at Petunia's house for the holidays, visiting Lily. Vernon had been there too, visiting Petunia and it had been his first run in with a wizard.

He still remembered it clearly, the day when James Potter had decided to teach an insolent Muggle a lesson. He had called Lily a freak and that had been it, James' temper snapped. Vernon had been shoved into a fire, but not a normal one, a green one, the ones the wizards used when they wanted to go places. Choking on some powdery stuff that was swirling around in the fire, Vernon was transported to a place he didn't recognise.

His time in the strange harshly lit room had been one of the most traumatic experiences of his life. Vernon remembered cowering in the corner furthest away from the assortment of floating jars. He had not wanted to discover what their contents were, but he had vague suspicions as to what they were.

Of course he only had to endure a few minutes in the room before Potter had come to get him, saying, "You had to choke out _that_, eh Dursley?" Still, even just thinking of that room made the bile rise in Vernon's throat. James Potter had not meant to scare him out of his wits, merely to get back at Vernon for calling Lily a freak. Ginny Weasley had not intended to hurt him too badly yesterday, she'd just lost it. The thing was, when wizards lost their tempers, the consequences were scary for those on the receiving end, even if the wiard had not intended for it to be.

Vernon was afraid of magical people. not for no reason as his son seemed to think, but because if they ever got angry and made a mistake, that mistake could be irreversible. Of course, Dudley was not to know all this, he thought his father a raving lunatic. Vernon would never be able to tell his son the truth, because telling the truth involved admitting to what had happened with James which was something Vernon would prefer not to share with others. Besides, Vernon thought bitterly, even if Dudley did know, it's not as though he would have any sympathy for his father. He would just think it was Vernon's own fault for antagonising James, just like he had yesterday when Ginny had hexed him.

Vernon prodded at his pancakes moodily; his insulting tirade aimed directly at 'Potter' came to a halt as something finally hit him. He had realised with a sensation of shock that it was not against Harry Potter, that he ranted, but against James, the person who was responsible for one of the scariest things that had happened to Vernon in the course of his life. He'd been confusing the two, for god knows how many years, just because Harry was the image of his father.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been busy. Anyway, I think the end of this chapter is a little weak, but apart from that it's alright. That's my opinion, as always I would love to know what _you _think, so please review? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

I own nothing, I wish I did. Unfortunately I am not JK Rowling.

**Chapter 5: Family Reunion**

Petunia watched Dudley carefully, her beady eyes finally finding something of worth to observe. He was with Roxanne and the pretty brunette was laughing at something her son had just said. Petunia pursed her lips, she wasn't sure about how she would feel if Dudley started dating a witch.

She had managed to get over most of her prejudices during her time at the Burrow, but it would still be strange. Still, she thought she had better prepare herself for it, only a fool would be unable to see that Roxanne and Dudley were heading that way. She read all the signs of a tentative romance there.

She sighed and went back to chopping the onions she was preparing for one of Molly's famous soups. Her friend looked up when she heard the sigh, and walked over to where Petunia was standing. Due to her height, Molly could not see as much as the other woman could, but she could see enough to know what was going on, "Aah young love…"

Petunia glanced over, then looked away in embarassment, Molly's eyes were moist. "Well how are you taking it Tuney?" Molly asked, her tone was familiar, and she used the nickname that had previously been reserved for Lily. Petunia had never thought anyone else would ever use it again, but she had to admit she sort of liked Molly calling her Tuney. She liked having a friend; it was nice after having been cooped up in Privet Drive for so long.

Petunia took her time answering, she didn't really know her own feelings on the matter, so it was a difficult question for her to answer. Molly realised that Petunia wasn't going to answer anytime soon, so she continued speaking to give the other woman more time to formulate her thoughts, "You know, he's picked possibly the worst person too. Well, not the worst person, she's wonderful, I love Roxy. It's just that, in terms of background, there she is, the only living descendant of the Grindelwalds, and him a muggle. Even if you don't mind it, Tuney, there's still the entire pureblood wizarding world and they're bound to kick up a fuss. Not to mention Vernon."

Petunia smiled, noticing how Molly kept her tone ever so polite when talking of Vernon. She knew right then that she wouldn't mind Dudley marrying a witch. How could she when, Molly, who was one of her closest friends by now, was a witch? How could she say that her friends were not good enough for her son? No, if Dudley wanted to be with Roxanne then that was a good thing.

"I don't mind, in fact I'm happy with it if it's Roxanne," Petunia answered with a smile, which almost immediately became a frown again. Molly was right, even if she liked it, Vernon most certainly wouldn't and then there were these 'purebloods'. "Who exactly are the Grindelwalds?"

Molly laughed and gave Petunia an incredulous look. She was frequently amazed by her friend's lack of knowledge about the wizarding world, after all Petunia had had a witch for a sister. She smiled as she replied, "Only one of the most famous wizarding families in history. Gellert Grindelwald was well on his way to becoming a menace when Dumbledore fought a duel with him and won. It's the most famous duel in our history."

Petunia frowned, realising that these 'pureblood' wizards were probably just as insane about keeping their bloodlines full of magic as Vernon was about keeping theirs free of it. Her son had picked a difficult path, "I'm sure they'll find away around it, if that's what they want to do," she said it doubtfully though.

Molly scrutinised her friend's face, she wondered whether she should tell her the other reason that falling for Roxanne could be dangerous for Dudley. It was only a rumour though, and Molly didn't want to upset Petunia. Still, shouldn't she know that the girl her son was falling in love with was rumoured to be betrothed to Orion Lestrange?

Molly felt a shiver go down her spine as she thought the name. It had been months since she had killed Bellatrix Lestrange, but the thought of the woman still made her furious. The thought that Roxanne, whom she'd come to regard as a daughter, may be promised to a Lestrange, it made Molly's heart clench.

Petunia seemed to notice that there was something on Molly's mind, because she was looking at her curiously when she came out of her reverie. She opened her mouth to ask something, but thankfully Molly was spared by the two young people of whom they spoke walking in.

It was plain enough that Dudley and Roxanne had feelings for each other, but there was a slight hesitance in her eyes that Molly took to be confirmation of the rumours that were flying around. She sighed, she was going to have to have a little chat with Roxanne. If the rumours were true…well Molly hoped that the rumours were not true.

She watched Petunia focus on the two young people, who were now playing with Fred and George's fake wands and she sincerely hoped that the rumours were incorrect. Molly hoped that things could be easier for the two but somehow she knew it was not to be.

Dudley ambled over to them his face glowing with excitement, "Roxanne's just said she's going to teach me how to fly!" Excitement was written across all of his features and Molly couldn't help but smile in response. Vernon had entered the kitchen just in time to catch Dudley's words and Molly watched him turning a mottled shade of purple, he managed to refrain from making the nasty comment Molly knew was on the tip of his tongue, though.

"That sounds exciting," Petunia said trying to be enthusiastic about it, but just sounding worried.

"I'll be fine mum," Dudley rolled his eyes, not at all fooled by his mother's false enthusiasm. He had after all been dealing with Petunia's overly protective attitude since infancy. He frowned as he compared her overbearing stance with him to the blasé one she took to his cousin.

He dismissed the thought though, Petunia had cared for Harry, she just hadn't wanted Vernon to see and she didn't like meet her nephews' eyes. Dudley assumed that this must be because those eyes would remind her too much of the sister from whom she had been estranged. He thought that his mother must be really cut up about her sister, because he'd often see an expression of pain flit across her face when she did meet Harry's eyes. Dudley sighed wishing more than ever that Harry was here, so that he could resolve the knot of guilt that seemed to be stuck in the pit of his stomach. Probably his penance for seventeen years of being a jerk.

He caught sight of Petunia looking at him with concern and arranged his features into a smile. He forced himself to look pleasant, to be pleasant, rather than just letting his thoughts absorb him. They did not exactly make him unhappy, he just brooded, but that was enough to worry Petunia

So instead of focusing on the knot that was a permanent resident of his stomach, Dudley tried to focus on flying. Roxanne had told him it was the most exhilarating thing she'd ever done, and that had him eager to learn. Dudley was also feeling just a touch nervous, Roxanne was very good at flying, or so it seemed when she spoke about it, and Dudley was sure he would not be very good at it. It was, after all, meant for wizards not Muggles.

"You need to learn to stop worrying, mum. I'm fine," Dudley lied. He was not fine and he knew it, the knot was an unpleasant reminder of this fact. He patted Petunia's arm gently, taking in her sceptical expression. He sighed, he had never been much of an actor, "I'm looking forward to playing some Quidditch," he said truthfully to throw her off the scent.

"I'm excited for you too Duds," she refrained from using Diddykins with difficulty. She was just so relieved that Dudley was finally making friends. Good ones. Not the type that liked to go out and beat up ten year olds. Petunia nearly shuddered thinking of Piers Polkiss and the 'gang' days. She was not as oblivious as she seemed.

At this Roxanne, who had wandered over and was now leaning against the table-top, grinned wickedly, "Well, if you're game, I could teach you too Mrs. Dursley."

Petunia looked up at Roxanne in alarm, "Ummm, maybe some other time?"

Roxanne grinned, she was not going to let Petunia get away that easily. "Come on," she wheedled. She flashed Petunia one of her trademark grins, it would have melted Dudley's heart, but his mother was made of sterner stuff.

Petunia pursed her lips and looked away. She knew that those golden eyes would have her mounting a broomstick soon if she didn't avoid looking directly at them. Dudley chuckled at his mother's defiance. Petunia cast a pleading look his way, but he shook his head as if to say, 'I'm not getting involved'.

Roxanne skipped around the table, so that she could meet Petunia's eyes. "Please Tuney?" She batted her eyelids charmingly, "Please?" she begged once more and Petunia felt her resolve beginning to fade.

"Oh alright then," she snapped. She could see why Dudley was having a hard time looking away from the girl. She was one of a kind, who would ever have thought that anyone could have talked Petunia Dursley into getting onto a broomstick? No, she didn't even have to talk me into it, Petunia thought angrily, she just _looked_ me into it.

Roxanne had an easy grin on her face. It had been easy enough to charm Mrs. Dursley, not as easy as Dudley, but still easy. She turned to Molly, "No you don't," Mrs Weasley cut her off, "I would, honestly Roxanne, but I have work to do," Molly indicated the chopping board in front of her, while Roxanne pouted.

"Yes, and I have to help her," Petunia said, still looking for ways out of this arrangement.

"No you don't," Molly returned with a chuckle, "You go have fun. I'll manage one night in my own kitchen perfectly well," she doomed Petunia to her fate with an amused smile playing about her lips.

"Oh, I'll go see if Ginny can come then, but you know Mrs. Weasley, we're going to be one player short…"

"You'll live," Molly said sharply, she was tired of Roxanne's wheedling. Roxanne sighed and vanished out of the door, gone to find Ginny no doubt.

Dudley hovered a minute, then followed her out of the door. As he made his way up the stairs, he wondered whether he'd be better or worse than his mother. It was bound to be embarrassing if Petunia was better than him. He continued to trudge towards Ginny's room, still thinking about Quidditch with a sort of resigned excitement, he was resigned to looking bad, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to have a lot of fun.

He knocked on the door and about a second later he head Ginny shriek. Alarmed he barged his way in, only to see the two girls hugging each other and jumping up and down. Unable to flatter himself that his entry was causing this reaction he hastened to the window to see what was happening. It was Harry.

Dudley didn't even think about what he was doing, he just began to run and he knew that he wouldn't stop until he was in front of his cousin. Ginny and Roxanne followed him. Ginny outrunning him somewhere near the door of the Burrow. She flung it open and threw herself into the arms of the man with messy black hair who stood on the threshold.

"Hey there, Gin," Harry laughed ruffling her hair. He picked her up and twirled her round once then set her on her feet. "Mmmm is that apple crumble I smell?" Ginny merely nodded, it seemed that she was too absorbed memorising every detail of his face.

He gave her one last look of pure admiration before finally looking around. That was when he caught sight of Dudley, who had dropped back, embarrassed by the display of affection between Ginny and Harry.

"Er…" Harry seemed to shocked for words, "Dudley?" he managed to stammer eventually.

"Yeah it's me," Dudley replied, watching the woman behind Harry who was carrying a tiny baby. She looked much too old to be its mother though, more like it's grandmother. He tore his eyes away from the baby, who was sucking his thumb like there was no tomorrow, "It's nice to see you again Harry."

Ginny smiled and disentangled herself from Harry's arms, she then looked pointedly at Dudley. Who looked at her in confusion. What did she want? Then it dawned upon him, he reached out and pulled Harry into a rough, one-armed embrace. "Sorry, you know, about being a jerk for around seventeen years you know," he said sincerely.

Harry laughed, "Blimey Dudley. I'm going to have to take some time getting to know this new you. How did you wind up at the Burrow in the first place?" He patted Dudley gently on the back and then the awkward embrace was over. "So what? Did you run away from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia?"

Dudley looked confused, "What? No, they're here," and with this he called to his mother, "Mum, Harry's here!"

Petunia appeared in the doorway nearly instantly, but she stopped there, an awkward smile on her lips. "Hello," she said in a stilted voice. She wondered how Vernon would take the news that Harry had finally arrived. He hadn't seemed to eager to see his nephew again.

Everyone was distracted as Roxanne bounded up to Harry and stood staring at him for a second. Dudley shook his head, she was so weird sometimes, "Thankyou," she said, grinning at him. Then she turned and walked back into the house, "We're playing Quidditch in an hour, care to join us?"

"Yeah, Roxy says that you're really good at it," Dudley told Harry, "Apparently you won every match for Gryffindor."

"Um, who's Roxy? And you play Quidditch now?" Harry was reeling; unnerved by the fact that Dudley seemed to know so much about him. He was downright shocked that his cousin now played Quidditch. It seemed that once you managed to get rid of Lord Voldemort the world got turned all topsy-turvy.

"Um, well not yet I don't. Roxanne and Ginny are teaching me and mum tonight, though. Roxanne's the girl who just said 'thankyou' to you," Dudley frowned, "She can be a little odd sometimes."

"Harry hadn't heard any of Dudley's response past 'me and mum'. Aunt Petunia…playing Quidditch? Harry pictured it in his mind and struggled not to burst out laughing. What had happened to his Muggle relatives, had their minds been addled by some memory charm? Had they forgotten who they were? These were the Dursleys, wizard haters, and here they were, about to get on broomsticks.

Harry saw his uncle approaching and immediately prepared to get out of arms reach. It was just a habit; he was so used to Vernon throttling him. Then he stopped himself. Was it possible that Vernon too would be joining them for Quidditch?

"Have fun flying around on the broomsticks," he said to Petunia as he passed in what was a clearly venomous tone. Harry sighed, apparently some things hadn't changed. He felt a vague sense of relief, at least there was one thing that felt normal.

Vernon came to a stop in front of Harry. He stood like that for a second and it looked as though he was fighting some internal battle with himself, then he stuck out a trembling hand. It looked like he was trying to shake Harry's hand. Harry was shocked but he accepted the hand willingly and gave it a few jerky shakes.

"We're good then, Potter," there was no friendliness in that voice. Just some healthy neutrality. Harry stared, the whole thing was now, definitely, surreal. His Uncle had shaken his hand, not strangled him. It was a miracle.

Vernon seemed to like to keep things short and sweet, and he departed soon after his strange words. Aunt Petunia had smiled at him as he left, but he'd avoided her gaze, flushing with embarrassment. Harry tried to remember a time he had seen his Uncle blushing. He hadn't. He'd seen his uncle so angry he'd gone purple, but there had never been any embarrassment, because up till now, Vernon Dursley had had no humility.

Dudley looked after his father, shock scrawled across his face. Apparently his father wasn't the world's greatest jerk after all. He was still on the list of the top ten though, he just didn't take the cake anymore.

At this point the woman standing next to Harry cleared her throat, "Aren't you going to introduce Teddy and I?" she asked, her voice coloured with disapproval.

Harry looked sheepish for a moment, "Oh," he said, "Um, this is Andromeda Tonks and that's Teddy Lupin. He's my godson, and that's his grandma," he said gesturing towards Andromeda once more, his eyes full of pride.

Dudley gaped, he remembered the name Lupin, looking up at him from that column in the newspaper. "I'm so sorry about Remus," he said, recalling the man's first name. He couldn't say much more, he was too shocked. Harry had a godson? He was only just about to turn eighteen though. That was a lot of responsibility for an eighteen year old.

Realising that he had forgotten his manners, Dudley turned and greeted Andromeda and Teddy, shaking the baby's tiny little hand. It felt so soft and innocent, Dudley felt a sudden urge to protect young Teddy. He reminded Dudley of Harry, only Harry hadn't had anyone who had loved him. Teddy at least had his grandmother and his godfather…Dudley glanced at Harry in awe, somehow the fact that he was a godfather was more extraordinary than the fact that he had defeated the darkest wizard of the century.

"Shall we?" said Andromeda indicating the doorway of the Burrow, and they all turned and walked through the door, not knowing what they would discover about their companions next.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys, sorry for the super-long time it's taken me to get this chapter up. I've had a lot of stuff going on. School's just started and there's been a lot of drama in my life lately, it hasn't left much time for writing. I did eventually get here though, and I will update Amnesia and all my other stories soon too.

Anyway, I'm introducing a new character in this chapter, hope you enjoy. As always I love to hear what you guys think of my work, so pretty please review? Please?

Chapter Five: Orion the Hunter

The Burrow seemed to come to life with Harry there. Even George, who had previously been completely despondent, managed to greet Harry with some enthusiasm. Dudley no longer wondered at skinny Harry Potter heading the attack against Voldemort and the Death Eaters, he was clearly a leader, someone that people looked to for hope and guidance.

He had only been in the house for twenty minutes and already Mrs. Weasley was asking his opinion of everything on the dinner table and Ginny wouldn't leave his side. Of course, all the attention that Harry was getting was making it very hard for Dudley to have a proper conversation with his cousin. The most he'd managed was a couple of sentences when his cousin had first arrived.

Dudley liked to think that even though he'd only uttered a few sentences, he had made some progress towards making amends to his cousin. Harry certainly wasn't trying to ignore the fact that he existed like he had at Privet Drive, instead he smiled whenever their eyes met. It was a pleasant change.

Mrs. Weasley's dinner was as always, delicious, but Dudley was preoccupied, thinking about Quidditch. He had no idea how he was going to get out of it, after all he had promised Roxanne that he would play. Still, he had a bad feeling about the entire thing, he was pretty sure that he was going to stuff up and make a fool of himself and now Harry, an amazing Quidditch player, would be there to see it. It was going to be humiliating.

Dudley's only hope was that everyone would forget about Quidditch entirely because of Harry's arrival. He wasn't counting on it though; he'd noticed that Ginny had a memory that never failed her. He sighed and ate another spoonful of mash potatoes looking almost as melancholy as George.

Not wanting to dwell on unhappy thoughts, Dudley tried to tune into the conversations that were going on around him. Harry was speaking to Mrs. Weasley and Ginny both of whom had concerned looks on their faces, George was looking at the floor but every now and then he'd sneak a glance at Harry, leaving Dudley sure that he was listening to the conversation too.

"No, they're alright Mrs. Weasley. Didn't Ron tell you what he was going to be doing the last time he dropped by?" Harry was asking, it seemed that he was upset with his best friend.

Ginny snorted, "You know Ron, Harry. He's not exactly the best at explaining things. He just said that you lot were off to do some 'stuff'," she laughed, but her expression remained worried.

"I still don't get it...Why can't the Dementors guard Azkaban?" Mrs. Weasley now looked confused. Dudley's ears pricked up at the word Dementors. He looked at Harry waiting for his next response.

"We don't trust them. If the Death Eaters wanted to stage a breakout and offered them something good enough, I think that they'd help them to get out." Dudley remembered reading an article in the newspaper about this, but he'd always thought that the Ministry would eventually allow the Dementors their old spot back. What else could they do? You couldn't exactly have Dementors swooping left right and centre amongst the Muggle population now could you? How many people would lose their souls, like he almost had?

"What are they going to do with the Dementors then?" Dudley asked, his voice slightly panicky.

Harry looked at him sympathetically and Dudley assumed that he too must have been thinking about that night. "We're trying to round them up," he said looking worried for the first time, "but we haven't had much success. It turns out the Ministry had plans in place for the Dementors if they did turn against us for a second time. They've managed to build these rooms in the Department of Mysteries, just about the only thing that wasn't destroyed when Voldemort took over, and they're filled with...happiness. I don't know how they work really, but it's like the essence of a Patronus guards that room and once they get into it, they can't get out."

Dudley felt slightly happier knowing that people were working to get the Dementors under control, but what if it didn't work? He felt a bundle of nerves twisting and turning around in his stomach at the thought of defenseless people, like him, getting attacked by the invisible Dementors. He wasn't the only one either; he noticed that Mrs. Weasley and Ginny had both shuddered slightly during Harry's speech.

Deciding once more that now was not the time to be lost in thought, Dudley plunged into his food. It was much easier to eat properly when your mind wasn't focused on something that was depressing. A feeling of fullness had replaced the knot of nerves by the time he was done with his large plate of dinner. Somehow it was impossible to feel anything but satisfied when you were stuffed full of one of Mrs. Weasleys' excellent dinners.

Feeling completely at peace with the world, Dudley leant back in his chair and let the conversation flow over him. It was mostly light-hearted now, all of the serious stuff had been talked about earlier, when Dudley had been too deep in thought to pay any attention. He'd only just caught that little bit about the Dementors.

In fact, it was not just Dudley who was happy, everybody seemed quite content, that is except for George. George was silent and more often than not looking at the floor and that was an improvement. He didn't usually eat dinner with the rest; his mother took it to him up in his room. Dudley thought that the family dinners might remind him too much of his lost twin, so he avoided them.

As the dinner party began to break up Dudley noticed Harry and George walk off into the yard together, assuming that they had something to talk about in private he ignored this. He walked to the kitchen and placed his plate into the now full sink, once they were all in Mrs. Weasley would simply whip out her wand and they'd be clean in a second. It was more effective than any dishwasher Dudley had ever seen.

Yawning heavily he headed to the staircase, he had reached the foot of it when something smacked into his shoulder-blades with considerable force. He turned to see a red ball lying on the ground and Roxanne and Ginny. They were both wearing identical, evil grins.

"You forgot didn't you?" Ginny smiled at him, at least she's having fun Dudley thought grimly.

"Yeah," he admitted, rubbing the side of his neck sheepishly. There was no way he was going to get out of it now, so he decided to just give up. Picking up the heavy red ball he walked over towards the two girls. Roxanne extended her hand for the ball, but Dudley shook his head in mock fear, there was no way he was going to give her back the weapon.

Together they walked up towards the apple orchard where they would be playing Quidditch, his mother joining them at the door of the Burrow. Dudley was glad to see that he was not the only one who was feeling nervous, his mother looked absolutely petrified, her face was white and her hands were shaking.

"Don't we have to get the brooms before we play?" Dudley asked when they reached the edge of the orchard. He would do anything to delay actually having to fly.

Ginny grinned, seeming to know that he was just trying to delay, "No, Harry and George got them earlier," so they had walked off into that field for more sinister reasons than just talking.

"Time to fly," said Roxanne as she darted through the trees into the orchard. Ginny rolled her eyes after her friends back and muttered something that Dudley didn't quite catch, then she too had walked into the orchard. Dudley and his mother cast each other one last terrified look before entering themselves.

The orchard was not too big, it had a cozy feel to it that reminded Dudley a lot of the Burrow. Most of the trees had been cleared so that there was just a large ring of them surrounding a clearing. The others were standing in the very centre of this clearing, George looking at the ground as usual.

Dudley and Petunia approached them tentatively, as they all looked on with amusement. When they finally reached their teachers, or more fittingly torturers, Dudley noticed the three brooms on the ground. "There aren't enough brooms," he said flatly.

Roxanne laughed, "We're not all flying, are we?" she said sweetly, handing him one of the brooms. Dudley took it, then promptly dropped it, the broom had burned his hand in the instant he had gripped it. He stepped back and looked at the broom that now lay on the ground warily. Harry looked alarmed too, but he was the only one who did. Everybody else was laughing.

Unaware of having done anything funny, Dudley looked at them all in shock. "What?" he asked, when he had finally found his voice.

"Sorry," Ginny was still laughing, "It's just your expression when you couldn't touch it!" she gave in to the laughter once more.

"What?" this time it was Harry who asked the question. The two cousins looked at each other in confusion, while Dudley's mother just looked horrified.

"Broomsticks have anti-muggle repelling charms on them, you get scorched when you touch them and so you think it's a bad broom. Then you chuck it out. If you didn't, you'd get Muggles all over England flying around on broomsticks, and then they'd know that magic existed. Muggles can generally use enchanted objects, it's just that we thought it wise to take precautions with broomsticks just in case they strayed into Muggle hands." George was the one who had to explain, because the others were still laughing. Harry nodded at this explanation, but Dudley was still confused.

"If we can't touch the brooms," he indicated himself and Petunia, "then we can't fly, right?" He waited for his answer tensely, hoping that they would say he was right.

"No, silly," Roxanne laughed, "You can fly, just not alone. They made a loop-hole in the charm in case Muggle-borns needed to fly their family places. You're going to have to take one of us on the back of your brooms. Well, not one of us, either Harry or Ginny, because George and I aren't quite that great at flying to have someone else on our broom too."

"No, I'm not flying at all remember," George reminded her. She pouted, she'd clearly been hoping he would.

"So, um, Dudley, you coming with me?" Harry asked. Dudley nearly laughed, he was pleased that his cousin had asked him, but he thought it had more to do with avoiding his mother than anything else. Dudley grinned and walked over to stand beside Harry, who was already lifting his Firebolt up, ready to mount it.

"That leaves you and me Mrs. Dursley," said Ginny with a grin, as she beckoned Petunia over Petunia walked gingerly over to the broomstick as Ginny swung herself lithely onto the thin stick. Dudley gulped as he thought of things that could go very wrong when he did the same thing. Petunia looked absolutely terrified as she clambered on behind Ginny, with very little grace, in fact she had broken a sweat by the time she had managed to heave herself up onto the broom.

Once she was on, Ginny rose a few feet into the air and called for the others to join her. Roxanne was off in a moment, dashing onto her broom and flying up to hover near the tree-tops. Her face looked even prettier than usual in the moonlit orchard and Dudley took a second to just observe her. Then it was his turn.

Harry had mounted already and was patiently waiting for him to clamber on. Dudley had been expecting Harry to be up the front and him to be on the back, but Harry had put himself as far as possible down the broomstick and was now gesturing for Dudley to hop onto the front portion. "You have to steer," he told Dudley with a grin.

The bundle of nerves in his stomach seemed to take over his whole body at that. Moving in a faster-than-usual lumber, he hurled himself onto the broom. If Harry hadn't been gripping it so firmly it would have tipped over, throwing them both onto the mushy ground. He turned and looked at his cousin apologetically, but Harry just smiled. Then he kicked off.

Dudley screamed, they were going unbelievably fast, he could feel the adrenaline going off inside him, as well as the terror. They were bolting straight towards a tree. He remembered that Harry had said he was supposed to steer but how? Dudley would have wrung his hands if he'd dared to move them from the handle of the broomstick, there was no wheel, no brakes...

They had about ten seconds until they hit the tree, why wasn't Harry telling him what to do? Maybe they were travelling too fast for his cousin to speak? At the very last instant, Dudley jerked his body right and the broom swerved in the direction his body moved. He sighed, relief flooding his body. So that was how you steered, you just _moved_. It seemed pretty obvious now that he thought about it.

They were still hurtling towards the other side of the orchard though, going much too fast for Dudley's liking. Wasn't there some way that he could slow the Firebolt down? After all everyone else was fluttering slowly through the air, not hurtling around like a cannon-ball.

Just as he was beginning to panic, Dudley felt a firm arm wrap around his midsection and pull him back so that he was leaning backwards, the broom immediately slowed. "God Dudley, what are you trying to give me whiplash?" Harry laughed as he pulled his cousin backwards, "You only sit out flat on the broom like that when you want to go really fast."

Dudley just nodded, feeling embarrassed, maybe he hadn't fallen off the broom yet, but he was pretty sure he was going to. Even his mother had figured out how to control the broomstick faster than he had, she was now floating around at a reasonable pace, sitting in front of Ginny and smiling in an uncomfortable sort of way, but still smiling.

Dudley was roused from his reverie by the sight of a tree, looming very close; there would be no time for them to avoid it. Dudley opened his mouth to scream, but he stopped abruptly when he noticed that the broom was swerving, he could hear Harry laughing again as he steered the broom away.

"Dudders," Harry teased, "You can do better than that." Dudley stared at his cousin in shock, realising that they were actually having fun together, that is when he wasn't paralyzed by fear.

It wasn't smooth sailing after that, the broom never seemed to move smoothly there was always a jerky motion to it when Dudley steered and it wasn't much, but it made the ride uncomfortable. There was something about flying though, you just felt so _free. _Dudley could imagine people getting hooked on flying, using it as a drug.

After they'd been flying for about an hour and both Dudley and Petunia had gotten a little more comfortable with flying, Roxanne decided that it was time for them to play proper Quidditch. She asked George to release the Bludgers, Dudley gulped when he saw that, and then the snitch, which fluttered away looking exceedingly delicate.

The last of the balls, the Quaffle, was the heavy red one that had hit him before. George swung his arm back and forth, trying to gather the energy that would be needed to lob the ball high up into the air. Dudley watched the motion of the arm, anticipation tight in his chest, when the Quaffle was released then the game of Quidditch would begin.

Unfortunately the Quaffle never was released, George's hand completed one more swing and then it hung there, limp by his side. "What?" Harry asked, clearly frustrated.

George didn't care though, he was staring at the trees on the right side of the clearing an unreadable expression on his face. Dudley turned the broom around so that they could see whatever was there, he had already decided it must be something to be making George act this weirdly.

The only thing he could see, though, was a dark figure, standing on the edge of the pitch. He assumed it must be Mrs. Weasley, who else would come to watch them play? Suddenly George shrieked and began to dash across the field towards the figure. Had he gone mad? Was he attacking his own mother?

Harry was clearly panicking too, he took over the broom and began to fly it as fast as he could in the same direction that George was running. The girls had both already taken off, but the Firebolt was faster and it quickly outstripped their slower brooms. As they approached the figure, Dudley noticed that it was most definitely not Mrs. Weasley.

It was a man, a tall rugged man, who looked as though he would have been handsome had he not been covered in wounds. Blood matted his hair and his grey eyes rolled wildly in their sockets. Still, he clutched his wand in his hand, determined to fight to the end if he had too.

George had also gotten closer and was now drawing his own wand, "You're supposed to be in Azkaban! How did you get free?" he snarled at the wounded man.

Dudley could feel Harry tensing behind him, he too recognised the stranger. "Lynx Lestrange," Harry said. Dudley did not recognise the man's first name, but he recognised the last. Bellatrix Lestrange had been the woman who had killed his cousin's godfather. Dudley could only suppose that this man was a relation of hers, and a Death Eater to boot.

George had just opened his mouth to cast a spell that would no doubt have Lynx in considerable pain when another voice spoke, "Expelliarmus!" Roxanne's normally cool voice had an edge of fear and desperation to it. Dudley was now confused, was Roxanne protecting a Death Eater?

It certainly appeared so, she landed her broom just as she caught George's wand. She then dashed over to put her slim frame between Harry and Lynx. Harry was fuming, Dudley could practically feel the heat rolling off him, "What are you doing?" he demanded of her.

"I'm," Roxanne panted as she met their eyes, "Please, just let me explain. I need a second," and indeed she did, she was completely out of breath and was clutching her sides gasping for air.

George looked mutinous, but Harry said they should wait for an explanation, and as Dudley was learning, Harry's word was law. Eventually Roxanne seemed to regain enough of her strength so as to be coherent, but instead of turning to them, she turned to the man behind her. "You ok, Ry?" she asked him softly.

Ry? Try as he might Dudley could not fathom how she could use Ry as a nickname for Lynx. Perhaps the others had mistaken this man's identity, he was after all covered in a lot of grime and blood.

"This, is not, as you believe Lynx Lestrange," said Roxanne, her voice still weary. "This is Orion. I have no idea how he got here, but he's been a friend of mine since I was three and I refuse to let you touch him," her voice glinted with anger and defiance here and George looked mutinous. He lifted his arm to jinx either her or him, but then remembered that Roxanne had disarmed him and dropped it in defeat.

Harry stared at her blankly for a few seconds then, "But...if he's a Death Eater, we have to Roxanne," he said in a gentle but hopeless tone.

Roxanne just laughed, "Ry? A Death Eater? Don't be ridiculous," she snickered as though the idea was ridiculous.

"I saw him, Roxanne! I saw him at the bloody battle at Hogwarts! Your mate there has blood on his hands," George seemed to be having some kind of breakdown and Dudley could not help but wonder whether this Orion man was really as horrible as George was making him out to be.

"That wasn't me," the man managed to choke out. "That _was _Lynx. You see we look very similar, we're twins," he finished off sadly.

At this George somehow managed to get past Roxanne and drive his fist into the man's face, "How the hell can you say that? Do you think it's funny, poking fun at me, after you killed my brother? You bastard! Let me go Harry, I'm going to kill him!" Harry refused to let go off the neck of George's robes and George let off a stream of profanities to vent his frustration.

"What?" Orion was clutching his nose, which was now bleeding. "I didn't kill your brother, you idiot!" He stopped here and tried to regain his composure, he was clearly very angry with George and who wouldn't be after someone had just punched them? "Look I'm sorry, about whatever my brother did. It would've been horrible. I loved Lynx, with all my heart, but he always had dark tendencies. If it will help you get some closure, Lynx is dead." He sounded toneless. His eyes had become dark tunnels. His face, matted in blood and hair was somehow heroic and noble, when he spoke like that.

"Lynx is what?" Roxanne practically screamed, she sank to the floor, face white. "He's dead? How? How? How?"

Orion seemed to be choking on something as he tried to reply, "You know how he always said there was one organisation more important to him than the Death Eaters? One person he loved more than the Dark Lord? He died trying to stop our mother, dear Bellatrix, from trying to kill me. She got him instead and then your mother," he gestured to George, "Killed her."

"I've been running now, for five days. They're trying to get me. Well what's left of them anyway. Their imperiused puppets are on the look out too," here he turned to Harry, "It wasn't so bad, till yesterday, that was when Rodolphus got out. My father, somehow escaped from under the eye of your guards and came to kill me," Orion sounded concerned, "Perhaps Azkaban is not as secure as you think it is?"

Harry sighed, "You may be right, I'll have to check with Ron and Hermione, which means I'll have to leave earlier than I thought I would, maybe by tomorrow."

"Roxy, I'm so sorry, I had no-one else."

"That's ok Ry, you know that I'm here for you whenever you need me," she smiled weakly, her face still pale with shock and grief.

"I can't believe this, are we supposed to believe this slimy git?" George asked.

"Yes!" Roxanne sounded just as aggressive, "Orion's done nothing wrong. He just looks like someone who has."

"We need to get him cleaned up a bit. Then we'll question him a bit more, mate," Harry seemed like he was just trying to placate George. Dudley had noticed that his cousin was quite the diplomat.

Wondering whether life with wizards could be any more complicated than this, Dudley trekked out of the orchard. The others slightly in front of him, Roxanne supporting Orion's mass with her slim frame.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm terribly sorry about the long wait that you've had for this chapter, but I've had the most horrible writers' block for all of my fanifc. I'm still not very happy with this, but I've forced myself to write it and I do hope that you enjoy it. As always reviews are appreciated.

**Chapter Seven: Engaged?**

Tension hung heavy on the air, floating about, like oil does on water. Dudley could almost feel the weight of it on his back, and it didn't seem like anyone else was faring much better. They were all sprawled across the couches in the living room looking taciturn or despondent, or in George's case, both.

Roxanne was the exception to this rule; she was fidgety and couldn't stop her feet from pacing endlessly around the room. Dudley didn't really have a problem with her pacing, it was understandable, she was worried about her friend. Plus watching the motion of her feet gave him something to do.

In the ten minutes that it took for Orion to clean himself up - which is what they were waiting for – Dudley familiarised himself with Roxanne's small, white shoes, and the sound of her feet as they hit the soft, worn carpet of the Burrow. He felt that he would have been able to draw a detailed sketch of those feet just from memory.

When Orion emerged, Dudley's suspicions of him being almost too good looking were confirmed. He was wearing an apologetic smile, which sat perfectly on his face; it was as though he knew that his presence was upsetting the family dynamic. "Hi," he said shyly.

Roxanne was the only one who deigned to reply to him, "Hey," she sounded anxious though and Dudley frowned, wondering why she was so worried if Orion wasn't really a Death Eater. George still looked as though he wanted to attack Orion, but Harry had wisely decided to keep his wand from him.

It was, of course, Harry who broke the awkward silence that had come over the room. Dudley had felt the tension thicken upon Orion's entrance and he could feel it lifting slightly as Harry spoke, "So, what happened to you, exactly?"

Orion sighed and sank onto the only empty armchair remaining thinking it was good that the Weasley's were such a large family or else everyone wouldn't have fit. How could he explain it all to them?

"Well, Lynx died," that was the first thing he could think of, and he supposed it all started there. "I ran then, I had nothing left to stay for, the only reason I decided to help your side against the Dark Lord was to see if I could keep Lynx out of trouble. There was no way I was going over to the Dark Lord, I would never trust a man who has no human feeling...Anyway, I was followed, by some of his supporters, Durin and Gordon, I think Rodolphus told them to come after me, just before he was caught. They weren't going to let me get away easy, they wanted me to die while it was still in their power to kill me. After all, to them I was responsible for the death of my own mother," here he stopped and his eyes hit the ground. Everyone...dead. Lynx, his mother and his father was bound to be dead fairly soon.

"It got worse, two days ago," Orion said once he had composed himself, he noticed that all of them were watching him with pity in their eyes, except for the other half of the twins, "Before that it had been relatively easy for me to outrun them. Durin and Gordon were never the best with a wand, but when my father joined them...Well of course as soon as I realised it was him, I was running faster than ever...but it wasn't enough. They caught me yesterday," here Roxanne's breath caught and she came over to him and put her arm around his shoulder, "They...used some curses," Dudley winced, he was assuming they'd used the Cruciatus curse and probably many more considering the state of Orion's face.

"They had to run though, the aurors were coming. That's the only reason I'm alive. I had to run too, I had to go, because everyone would think I was Lynx and then I'd be dead at the hands of the aurors. I only came here because I thought that maybe Roxanne would be able to tell you who I was before you put me into Azkaban. That's really about it."

Everyone sat there for a few moments, staring at Orion, who looked back at them steadily, his grey eyes unblinking. He had to make them realise, he was telling the truth, they had to know that he had never been anything like his family, though he had loved his twin.

"I believe you," to everyone's surprise it was George who had spoken. "I'm sorry, about your brother, but I still hate his guts, because he killed my brother."

Orion nodded, "Lynx wasn't the best person, but I loved him, just like how you loved Fred," he looked at the redhead with a lot of sympathy and then turned to Roxanne, she was avoiding his gaze and he knew why. The engagement was not exactly something he wanted to talk about either.

"Ok, so you should probably eat something and get some sleep, then," said Harry who seemed to be trusting George's judgement as well as his own as he passed back the older boy's wand. George nodded appreciatively as he accepted it.

"Wait just one second," Mrs Weasley said as Orion made to get up, he sat back down again and looked at her in confusion, "Look, I wouldn't meddle if I didn't think it was necessary, but there've been a lot of rumours about you flying around."

Orion sighed and looked at Roxanne, running a hand through his dark, shaggy hair he walked over to stand next to her. "Well, the rumour is that...you two are engaged," said Molly indicating to Orion and Roxanne, who was looking to the corner of the room apologetically. Orion followed her gaze, she was looking at the Muggle boy, Dudley, it looked as though they had feelings for each other.

Orion looked at Roxanne for a while, expecting her to speak, when after a while she said nothing he began, "Look, it's not what you think. We're going to get rid of it as soon as we can, it's just that there was no time...It all happened so fast and then the war began so there was no time," he stopped and ran his hand through his hair again, it was a nervous habit of his, "Look we may be engaged now but we won't be for long."

"Wait...what's this 'it'?" Dudley spoke. He was glaring at Orion and the taller man was reminded of the expression 'if looks could kill'.

"What he meant is," said Roxanne who had apparently regained her usual, collected manner, "We didn't enter into an engagement willingly and the nature of our engagement is very...doubtful. It's old, pureblood magic, and our parents did it. It's sort of like an arranged marriage, only we can break the charm, it's just difficult, you have to figure it out. It's weird; I never really understood the pure-blood traditions..."

Dudley felt himself relax at her words. She'd been engaged, but not in the typical sense with a ring and all, but through a spell. It was not of her own free will, there was no love involved and they could get rid of the spell, so really everything was fine.

Orion watched the small crowd in the living room of the Burrow intently, looking for any signs of shock and distaste. He knew that most wizards sneered at arranged marriages these days; it was only the slightly psychotic, pure-blood families that bothered with them anymore. Families like his and Roxanne's. To his surprise it wasn't Dudley Dursley who was looking upset – in fact he was looking vaguely happy – no, it was his mother.

Petunia's lips were pursed and she was staring at both Roxanne and Orion. Her look had an intensity to it that Roxanne had never seen in the woman's eyes before; she was almost scared of Mrs. Dursley when she looked like that. She quailed and felt like turning tail and fleeing, this was exactly why she'd never mentioned the engagement before, she'd been afraid of people's bad reactions.

Petunia couldn't believe it, she was engaged! Poor Dudley, he would be so heart-broken if the engagement couldn't be broken off. It was really a pity that these two young people had been forced into an engagement at such a young age, but there had been no need for Roxanne to lie about it and string her son along. She'd been encouraging an irresponsible affection for a while now. Still angry, Petunia managed to speak, "You better figure this out fast."


End file.
